Washington: Conservative christians in North America are on track to set up a new church after the split from the church over differences with the liberals, particularly over the issue of homosexuality in the communion.

Last month, a top bishop in Britain flayed the church for its "wishy-washy" attitude over homosexuality. Conservative Episcopalians have long been upset by the stance of the church s leadership on various issues, particularly homosexuality.

Now the new Anglican Church in North America will include four Episcopal dioceses which recently split from the US church, as well as breakaway parishes from Canada.

The new church will be announced during a service of celebration in Wheaton, Illinois, the Daily Telegraph said. Tensions came to a head in 2003 when the church consecrated its first openly homosexual bishop, Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.

Traditionalists have been upset that the Episcopal Church escaped punishment despite consecrating Robinson as Anglicanism's first openly gay bishop. The traditionalists have formed their own alliances, often with Anglican churches in Africa.

The new church will be announced during a service of celebration in Illinois. The Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, the Bishop of Rochester, last month told conservative evangelicals, who debated proposals for a new "church within a church", that there has been a lack of discipline in the communion.

The question of whether it will be accepted by the Anglican Communion or whether it even wants to be remains unclear. Canon Kenneth Kearon, the Communion s secretary general, was quoted as saying that the new church must abide by the organisation's existing regulations.

"The issue as I see it is whether in fact this body, or province as they re calling it, wishes to be recognised as a province of the Anglican Communion," he was quoted as saying by the British daily.

Source : PTI